Illinois Democrat Cheryle Jackson, a candidate for the Senate seat President Obama once held, is getting aid for her 2010 bid from the feminist political action group EMILY’s List.

Jackson, who heads the Chicago Urban League, was described in an endorsement press release Thursday, as a “dynamic and charismatic leader who is hands down the best candidate to keep President Obama’s former Senate seat in the Democratic column.”

Jackson is a former aide to Rod R. Blagojevich when he was Illinois governor, but before he became embroiled in the corruption scandals that prompted the state legislature to remove him from office last January.

The endorsement by EMILY’s List, which backs Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights, was widely expected. Jackson faces competition from three men in the Feb. 2 Democratic primary: state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias; David Hoffman, a former Chicago inspector general; and Jacob Meister, a lawyer.